[Qingque Cosplay] Honkai: Star Rail's New Year Slack-off Routine

Portraying Qingque's most reluctant-to-work day was honestly all too relatable; I entered the studio carrying a full head of 'don't want to work' resentment. This set of backlog photos that I hadn't had time to post on RED (Xiaohongshu) is being uploaded quickly at the tail end of the holiday vibe, catching up on late New Year greetings with Boss Qing's blessings.

Although I kept complaining about not wanting to work, I wasn't sloppy at all when preparing this gear. Qingque's outfit has a wonderful sense of layering in its colors; the main body is a glossy dark green paired with dark brown and black color-blocking. The off-the-shoulder and open-back design particularly tests the coordination between the wig and the neck/shoulder lines. I specially styled the hair this time into a side braid and low ponytail, matching it with that signature hair accessory to keep the 2D characteristics while making the real-life look appear crisp. For the makeup, I deliberately toned down overly heavy colors, making the base makeup clean and translucent while emphasizing the depth of the eye makeup. This fits the original artwork perfectly without making the studio shoot look muddy.

Actually, the biggest difficulty in shooting this set was expressing her 'lazy yet clever' aura. The floating teal tiles and light bands you see in the first and second images are thanks to the post-production special effects team. During the shoot, I needed to design my hand positions and eye direction according to the preset floating trajectories. To capture Qingque's slightly proud yet casual expression, I repeatedly searched for angles in front of the reflector, ensuring my gaze locked onto the tiles in my hand while controlling the height of my shoulders to present a relaxed vibe of 'even though I'm very capable, I'm just too lazy to move.'

The photography studio selected this time was a Chinese real-scene studio filled with a heavy New Year flavor. Dark wooden tea tables and luohan beds paired with red paper and black ink Spring Festival couplets reading 'Receive Wealth, Blessings, and Peace,' plus deliberately staggered gold ingots, red persimmons, and an entire steamer rack of plump white steamed buns and dried fruit snacks, instantly maximized the holiday atmosphere. The warm yellow light emitted by the small lantern on the table was one of the soul fill lights for this set, perfectly blending the dark environment with the figure's silhouette.

The third image features a sitting posture I am personally quite satisfied with, wearing white calf socks paired with black ankle boots, sitting forward with dice tiles pinched in hand; that 'slacking off in spare time' state is exceptionally vivid. The backward glance in the fourth image was meant to make the frame livelier, displaying the fabric folds on the back and the textures of the skirt hem.

The biggest realization after finishing this shoot is that New Year cosplay is truly not as simple as just putting on clothes. The placement of every prop, the focal point of every gaze, and even the luminous position and angle of the light bands required repeated coordination with the photographer. Although the shooting process was exhausting—a literal manifestation of 'working while crying tired'—seeing Qingque's lazy yet deeply confident look in the final photos made all the hard work feel completely worth it.

I actually hesitated for a while during photo selection, but ultimately kept these few images with complete special effects and the strongest atmosphere. Uploading them simply serves as an archive for this New Year studio shoot, as this kind of theme is only shot once a year anyway. How is it that work starts tomorrow already? My whole body feels off, but at least today I can still savor the warm lights and fruit fragrances of the studio.